Gaining insight, advice, and new perspectives from top B2B marketing industry leaders is an incredible way to help scale your marketing skills and efforts to new heights. And podcasts, which are exploding in availability and popularity, can be a fantastic medium for getting access to those talented and seasoned industry leaders.
From the emerging B2B marketing trends to heartfelt stories of life’s great successes and bitter failures, there is so much we can learn by listening to people who have persevered and thrived. And lucky for you, we’ve compiled 20 of the best podcasts for B2B marketers right here.
We’ve touched on podcasts a time or two here, with Senior Content Marketing Manager Josh Nite bringing you a first edition of digital marketing podcasts to consider back in 2016. Many of those podcasts have continued to evolve, making it hard not to mention them again here. But there are some new kids on the block, too.
And with adoption as a marketing medium and a learning and entertainment tool rising, we hope you’ll find something that strikes your fancy.
Now let’s fast-forward to our list of 20 diverse podcasts that will provide a fascinating array of ideas and trends to expand and improve your B2B marketing efforts, presented in random order.
#1 – Marketing Over Coffee
Summary: Marketing Over Coffee explores the intersection of marketing and technology, with news, tips, and author interviews.
- Hosts: Chris Penn and John Wall
- Recent Topics on Tap: Influencers, Social Media Listening Tools, Heirarchical Ontology
- Recent Guests: Brendan Kane, Samuel Monnie, Jocelyn Brown
- Episode Length: 25 – 30 minutes
#2 – Six Pixels of Separation
Summary: Six Pixels of Separation offers insights on brands, consumers, technology and our interconnected world.
- Hosts: Mitch Joel
- Recent Topics on Tap: Business, innovation, and the marketing landscape.
- Recent Guests: Joseph Jaffe, Bernadette Jiwa, Ekaterina Walter
- Episode Length: One hour
#3 – Marketing Smarts
Summary: Marketing Smarts talks to industry leaders and authors such as Chris Brogan, Ann Handley and Gary Vaynerchuk, as well as c-suite executives from organizations including IBM, National Geographic, Dell, and the Baltimore Ravens.
Hosts: Kerry O’Shea Gorgone
- Recent Topics on Tap: Livestreaming, Branding, and a Scientific Approach to Metrics, Measurement, and Marketing ROI
- Recent Guests: Laura Gassner Otting, Minter Dial, Brian Fanzo
- Episode Length: 25 – 35 minutes
#4 – Social Media Marketing Podcast
Summary: Social Media Marketing presents success stories and expert interviews from leading social media marketing professionals.
- Hosts: Michael Stelzner
- Recent Topics on Tap: Facebook organic marketing, How to Avoid Distraction as a Marketer
- Recent Guests: Mari Smith, Brian Solis, Nathan Latka
- Episode Length: 45 minutes
#5 – Scott Stratten’s Unpodcast
Summary: Scott Stratten’s Unpodcast presents real-life examples, tips and guidance from experts on human resources, marketing and branding, networking, public relations, and customer service.
- Hosts: Scott Stratten, Alison Stratten
- Topics on Tap: Instagram Stories, Influencers on Instagram
- Episode Length: 30 minutes
#6 – Adweek’s CMO Moves
Summary: Adweek’s CMO Moves podcast offers inspiring career advice and the personal success stories behind an array of top marketing leaders.
- Hosts: Nadine Dietz
- Topics on Tap: How to Win as a Team, The Hunt for a Signature Move
- Recent Guests: Emily Culp, Seth Freeman, Meredith Verdone
- Episode Length: 30 minutes
#7 – LinkedIn Live with Marketers
Summary: LinkedIn Live with Marketers is a video-based series that can also be enjoyed listening to only the audio, as the LinkedIn (client) hosts tackle challenges top of mind for marketers.
- Hosts: Jann Schwarz and others
- Recent Topics on Tap: The Staying Power of Breakthrough Ideas, Brand Awareness vs. Lead Gen: Battle or Balance?
- Recent Guests: Wendy Clark, Rob Norman, Peter Weinberg
- Episode Length: One hour
#8 – Lexicon Valley
Summary: Lexicon Valley digs deeply into language, from pet peeves, syntax, and etymology to neurolinguistics and the death of languages.
- Hosts: John McWhorter
- Recent Topics on Tap: Is Social Media Changing English?, One Tongue to Rule Them All
- Recent Guests: Deborah Tannen, Lane Greene
- Episode Length: 40 minutes
#9 – Should This Exist?
Summary: Should This Exist? is hosted by Flickr and Hunch co-founder Caterina Fake, and explores the impact technology in all its forms has had on humanity. “We’re seeing amazing new technologies that are emerging every day that we need to have a conversation about,” Fake recently told Fast Company.
- Hosts: Caterina Fake
- Topics on Tap: Affectiva: Software that detects how you feel, Halo: A headset that makes you learn faster
- Recent Guests: Neuroscientist Daniel Chao, entrepreneur and scientist Rana El-Kaliouby
- Episode Length: 35 minutes
#10 – The Art of Process with Aimee Mann and Ted Leo
Summary: The Art of Process sees hosts Aimee and Ted talk to friends across the creative spectrum to explore how they work, and the process of turning ideas into art.
- Hosts: Aimee Mann and Ted Leo
- Recent Topics on Tap: The rise of streaming services, How to tackle a blank page
- Recent Guests: Wyatt Cenac, Rebecca Sugar, Dan Wilson
- Episode Length: 50 minutes
#11 – Without Fail
Summary: Without Fail is hosted by former This American Life contributor and NPR journalist Alex Blumberg, and takes a weekly look at someone who’s taken a big risk and either failed or found success.
- Hosts: Alex Blumberg
- Topics on Tap: Bringing Brands Back to Life, The Man Behind the Iconic Apple Stores: Ron Johnson
- Recent Guests: Andrew Mason of Groupon, Sophia Amoruso of Nasty Gal and Girlboss
- Episode Length: 50 minutes
#12 -The Marketing Book Podcast
Summary: The Marketing Book Podcast fills each Friday with a new episode interviewing bestselling marketing authors.
- Hosts: Douglas Burdett
- Recent Topics on Tap: Marketing Flexology, Laughing @ Advertising, Questions that Sell
- Recent Guests: Guy Kawasaki, Jay Acunzo, Mark Schaefer
- Episode Length: 50 minutes
#13 – The BeanCast
Summary: The BeanCast is a weekly exploration and roundtable discussion of advertising trends that could have an impact your brand.
- Host: Bob Knorpp
- Recent Topics on Tap: Marketing Ethics, Branded Podcasting, Frictionless Brands
- Recent Guests: Jay Baer, Colin Glaum, Lisa Laporte
- Episode Length: One hour plus
#14 – Social Pros Podcast
Summary: Social Pros Podcast, named the best podcast at the Content Marketing Awards, provides inside looks at real people doing real social media work.
- Hosts: Jay Baer and Adam Brown
- Recent Topics on Tap: Why Your People Are the Secret to B2B Social Media Wins, How to Use Authenticity to Become an Iconic Business,
- Recent Guests: Seth Godin, Rohit Bhargava, Need James
- Episode Length: 50 – 55 minutes
#15 – The Marketing Companion Podcast
Summary: The Marketing Companion Podcast serves up insights and ideas to boost your marketing skills. It’s billed as “always fun, always interesting, and always on-target with insights and ideas that will turn up your marketing intellect to an ’11.'”
- Hosts: Mark Schaefer and Brooke Sellas
- Recent Topics on Tap: Social media burn-out, Mind-bending social media trends
- Recent Guests: Kerry Gorgone, Mitch Joel
- Episode Length: 25 – 40 minutes
#16 – Copyblogger FM
Summary: Copyblogger FM gets to the heart of the latest marketing tips, tactics, stories and strategies that provide acceleration for your business. Featuring a rotating lineup of analysts, this podcast covers a variety of tactical areas such as email marketing, content marketing, conversion optimization, and more.
- Hosts: Sonia Simone
- Recent Topics on Tap: Getting Your Big, Scary Projects Finished, The 3 Plus 1 Foundational Elements of Effective Persuasion
- Recent Guests: Amber Naslund, Pamela Wilson, Nathan Barry
- Episode Length: 25 minutes
#17 – Invisibilia
Summary: Invisibilia joins narrative storytelling and science to make you see your own life differently, with lessons applicable to marketers.
- Hosts: LuLu Miller, Alix Spiegel, and Hanna Rosin
- Recent Topics on Tap: The Remote Control Brain, Who Do You Let In?
- Recent Guests: Cord Jefferson, Max Hawkins, Renato Rosaldo
- Episode Length: 35 – 55 minutes
#18 – The Strategy Hour
Summary: The Strategy Hour offers actionable strategies and marketing tips for growing your business, plus in-depth interviews that go straight to the “meat and potatoes.”
- Hosts: Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams
- Recent Topics on Tap: How to Listen to Your Audience, Why Creating Community is Crucial for Your Brand and Happiness
- Recent Guests: Kathleen Cutler, Sarah Peck, Nikki Porcher
- Episode Length: 35 – 40 minutes
#19 – Behind the Brilliance
Summary: Behind the Brilliance features “smart and funny” conversations and takes a weekly journey with leading innovators, creatives, and entrepreneurs.
- Host: Lisa Nicole Bell
- Topics on Tap: The link between self-awareness and success, The importance of starting small to make big changes
- Recent Guests: Laura Vanderkam, Jonathan Jackson, Paul Jarvis
- Episode Length: One hour plus
#20 – Women in Tech
Summary: Women in Tech explores marketing and technology featuring inspiring women who are Engineers, Founders, Investors, UX and UI Designers, and Journalists.
- Host: Espree Devora
- Topics on Tap: Women Empowering Technologies, Building technology-driven businesses
- Recent Guests: Kristine Kornilova, Linda Sinka, Marite Aleksandra Silava
- Episode Length: 11 – 40 plus minutes
Lifelong Learning From B2B Marketing-Focused Podcasts
Incorporating podcasts in the world of B2B marketing can be challenging, yet the advantages they offer make a strong case for considering them in your own campaigns. And it can be done.
For example, our client 3M conducted one of the largest science studies ever focused on global attitudes about science. The resulting State of Science Index research report led to the launch of 3M’s first podcast, the Science Champions Podcast.
Hosted by 3M’s Chief Science Advocate Jayshree Seth, the first season featured 21 science experts and influencers on topics ranging from an introduction to science in everyday life to careers in the field.
Results: The Science Champions podcast exceeded all expectations for downloads and engagement, resulting in the launch of Season 2 in March 2019. The podcast has also created relationships with science influencers and helped to showcase internal influencers.
As another example, Dell Technologies wanted to partner with industry influencers to create useful content for customers and increase the influence of their internal experts, which led to the creation of the Dell Luminaries podcast, hosted by influencers Mark Schaefer and Doug Karr.
The podcast highlights technology visionaries from inside Dell and out, and helps put a human touch on technology innovation.
Results: The Dell Luminaries project built a single platform that brings voices from multiple companies under the Dell brand together.
Our CEO Lee Odden recently wrote a Digital Marketing Institute article, which featured 3M and Dell’s podcasting success along with eight other B2B companies that have had strong results from influencer marketing.
It’s Only Just Begun — What Are Your Favorites?
This list only scratches the surface of the excellent marketing-related podcasts available. If you have a favorite not listed here, please leave a comment with a podcast that inspires your B2B marketing efforts.
Considering a podcast for your B2B brand? Get the what, why, and how lowdown on B2B podcasting from our own Joshua Nite.
